85 308 QV loosing water

4956 Views 27 Replies 0 Participants Last post by dave handa, Nov 2, 2003

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Discussion Starter · Oct 22, 2003

Our girl has been loosing cool

Our girl has been loosing coolant pretty rapidly. After a nice hour long drive the coolant level in the tank drops about an inch. I noticed the other day that when I started her up I saw some coolant draining out the overflow tube. It stopped soon after that but all together about half a cup was on the ground. She was bone cold when I started her up. Seems like if the cap was not sealing it could drain a lot of coolant under "spirited" driving conditions. Could this be the source of the leak? Any ideas/experience?

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Discussion Starter · #2 · Oct 22, 2003

Have to admit Ferrari sells th

Have to admit Ferrari sells the only $40 radiator cap that has sealing issues and goes bad regularly!

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Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 22, 2003

Such a small price to pay for

Such a small price to pay for the joy of owning and driving a Ferrari.

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Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 22, 2003

Hey Jeremy,

wish everyone

Hey Jeremy,

wish everyone had your enthusiastic attitude when paying $40 for a radiator cap...{

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Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 22, 2003

Gents...

Been down this roa

Gents...

Been down this road before a few times, and these OE caps sure do have a short life. In that they are a standard size, it would seem that a Stant cap, or virtually any other European cap with the correct pressures should work. I'm pretty loyal to OE components, but $40 does seem excessive for such an inferior product.

Regards,
David

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Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 22, 2003

I have been trying to find com

I have been trying to find comparables to Ferrari parts at www.international-auto.com and there seems to be a similar cap for the Fiat/Lancia #4809 $5.25 The gas cap for Alfa #13011 appears IDENTICAL for $18.95. The oil cap for Fiat #2435 appears similar as well. I have a friend with a 308 and a 124 spider and says the oil caps are identical, but this one looks cosmetically different, maybe they are sourced from a different supplier, and if you bought them from a authorized FIAT outlet, they would in fact be indentical. Someone at F-chat said they bought the oil cap and it indeed did fit fine, but WAS different looking than the original.

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Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 22, 2003

Thank you David. Do you know t

Thank you David. Do you know the size/pressure rating for the cap?

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Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 22, 2003

Great info Dave H. I'll ch

Great info Dave H. I'll check them out.

Jeremy

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Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 22, 2003

Sorry I don't. I wish the

Sorry I don't. I wish they would give more specifications. Measurements, with thread, pitch would be nice too, I bet we could match up oil drain plugs, and radiator thermo switches too. Although we now know the VW radiator switch works off a 78 Rabbit.

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Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 23, 2003

I don't have any actual di

I don't have any actual dimensions from Ferrari caps, but the pressure ratings are right on top...older caps were .9 bar with later caps 1.1 bar (1 Bar = 14.7 lbs).

Regards, JRV

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Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 23, 2003

Just for comparison....

Cap

Just for comparison....

Cap from International auto:

My cap:

Very similar, or maybe the same one.

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Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 23, 2003

Good call JR on the pressure r

Good call JR on the pressure rating. My cap has 1.1 stamped on the top.

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Discussion Starter · #13 · Oct 23, 2003

Same cap as on my BB...

OE

Same cap as on my BB...

OE cap was .9 bar. The new OE replacement cap is 1.1 bar. Hey, for $5 bucks, these Fiat caps can be still be junk...but you can buy 8 of them for the price of the Ferrari cap. HA!

Regards,
David

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Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 23, 2003

Exactly David!!! It's not

Exactly David!!! It's not that I can't pay $40 for one cap. It's that I don't have to!!!!!

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Discussion Starter · #15 · Oct 23, 2003

BTW. New profile picture taken

BTW. New profile picture taken at the Running of the bulls.

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Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 23, 2003

Top off?

It's so cold

Top off?

It's so cold here, I've got the heat on in the BB.
Very nice looking car, Jeremy.

David

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Discussion Starter · #17 · Oct 23, 2003

Nice, I like the wheels, they

Nice, I like the wheels, they look similar to the Speedlines on the 348 model they sold in the UK.

I'm tempted to buy the oil and radiator cap, jeez, at those prices, worth the risk to see if they work, though the oil cap not looking like the original one would bother me (too anal!). Wish they had a photo of the radiator cap flipped over. My cap looks slightly different when I just compared it (didn't have the three slots in the center), but I also know my cap was replaced in 2001, so may be a slightly new version.

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Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 23, 2003

Thank you D&D for the kind

Thank you D&D for the kind words. I am sending my seats off next week for leather conditioning. They are pretty shot!!!

Just placed my order for replacement oil and reservoir caps. Will update when I get them.

JL

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Discussion Starter · #19 · Oct 23, 2003

Cool, please post pictures of

Cool, please post pictures of both sides of the caps.

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Discussion Starter · #20 · Oct 24, 2003

Before you buy new caps check

Before you buy new caps check and see if the coolant system has been properly bled.
I made the mistake of blaming the cap when in fact
there was just air in the system. This is really common. That is why there is an easy access bleed screw at the radiator.

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